Chapter 23. Secret Meeting
2023.09.23.
"Madam, may I come in?"
It was Mason's voice.
"Come in."
Blair handed Pipi's milk bottle to Meli and went to the table. On the table were documents she had organized in advance.
Blair held out the documents to Mason as he approached.
"This is a budget plan I drafted based on the budgets from the past five years. Please take a look at it."
Mason was inwardly surprised. Blair had asked for past budget plan materials, but he hadn't thought she would actually draft a budget herself.
Budget documents with numbers dancing everywhere were headache-inducing, so he thought she'd skim through them a few times and quickly give up.
Mason thought her perseverance alone was worthy of high praise, and began reviewing the budget plan Blair had drafted.
Blair couldn't hide her anxious feeling as she fidgeted with her fingers, waiting for Mason's evaluation.
It felt exactly like when she was a child, having her homework checked by her teacher.
Mason's brow furrowed quite seriously as he reviewed the budget plan with the same grave expression as always.
As his review dragged on, the anxious Blair spoke up first.
"I just drafted this for practice, so if there's anything I missed, please feel free to tell me."
"No, it's excellent. It's so good I can't believe you really drafted this on your own for the first time."
At the unexpected reaction, Blair's eyes widened as she stared at him. Mason's voice carried an admiration that couldn't be hidden.
Mason wasn't someone who crossed lines with his master as a servant, but neither was he someone who fabricated words to flatter.
So this praise was genuine.
"I think we could implement this year's budget based on this budget plan."
Blair's heart pounded at hearing the praise.
It was the first time she had received praise from someone since Esmeralda died. Throughout her life, praise had always been her brother Ivan's share.
Katrina didn't want Blair to be better than Ivan. If Blair ever received something better from the Duke, Katrina would envy and resent Blair as if Ivan's share had been stolen.
The most delicious things, the most precious things, always had to belong to her son Ivan. If Blair had something Ivan didn't, she was the kind of person who would snatch it away and give it to her son.
Blair, thirsty for even a sliver of that maternal love, hid her talents. Always just one step behind Ivan. She couldn't outshine her brother, nor could she become a burden.
She lived like that for twenty years.
Before she knew it, she couldn't even believe in her own worth. Feeling inferior to Ivan became natural.
The praise she heard at such a time... was so joyous it made her throat ache for a moment.
Ah, I too.
I too can do something well. I can be acknowledged.
That fact she had forgotten living finally felt real.
"Of course, there are a few parts that are a bit lacking..."
Mason pointed out the parts that needed correction with precise observations while maintaining a respectful attitude.
Blair became a model student listening to a teacher's words, reflecting on the parts he explained.
Around the time the budget plan feedback was wrapping up, Lina entered with a knock.
"Madam, just now—"
Lina, who was about to jump straight to the point, belatedly noticed Mason's presence and closed her mouth. Mason tactfully excused himself.
After Mason left, only Lina and Blair remained in the room, along with Meli who was caring for Pipi.
Lina glanced sideways at Meli, who was distracted by Pipi, and whispered so only Blair could hear.
"A message came from the guild, Madam."
* * *
"The magic stone mine recently discovered in the northwest is being mined smoothly. The estimated reserves are..."
Herdin gazed with indifferent eyes at the scenery passing by outside the carriage window. The voice of Rus, reporting on the business status, also flowed past his ears like that scenery.
Everything was going smoothly. The business, and the task of finding Blair's memories.
A few days ago, Agnes had come to give an interim report. It was exactly one month since the counseling had begun.
Agnes said that rather than digging up painful memories from the start, she was going through happy memories first.
She added that while many clients distrust their counselors, Blair was quickly opening her heart to her, so things were going well.
'In the Madam's happy memories, the late Empress appears very frequently. That's probably why she hasn't tried hard to recall her memories. She's afraid of the possibility that the person she trusted and relied on so much might have really tried to kill her.'
'Even though that precious person might have been wrongfully accused?'
'After an accident where she was severely injured, she regained consciousness but couldn't remember what happened, and the people around her said that person tried to kill her...'
'...'
'Given the circumstances, it was natural to assume that. That the person tried to kill her, and she lost her memories from the shock of it.'
'...'
'And with the Empress Mother herself saying so, she would have believed it even more. She didn't want to make the living Empress Mother out to be a liar, and she didn't want to investigate the possibility that the late Empress really might have tried to kill her.'
'Selfish thinking.'
'Your Highness. The Madam was only eleven years old at the time.'
Agnes defended Blair, saying an eleven-year-old child wouldn't have had the luxury to think of anything other than herself.
'And in those happy memories, Your Highness also appears frequently.'
'...Me?'
'That's how much she trusts, relies on, and loves you. So it might be good for Your Highness to occasionally talk with her directly about that time.'
Herdin dismissed Agnes's words with a scoff.
Love... It was a ridiculous story.
It was simply because he was Esmeralda's nephew and had many occasions to see her, so he naturally appeared frequently.
He didn't know what feelings the current Blair had for him, but it certainly wasn't the kind of thing Agnes was talking about.
Judging from Blair's recent actions.
Since the day she was spotted going to the guild for the first time, Blair hadn't gone out for personal reasons.
'She's probably waiting for a message from the guild.'
Not only did she contact the guild behind his back, but she also spouted nonsense about being able to see the future.
But whenever he saw that bright, innocent face, he thought her suspicious actions might actually be his misunderstanding. Even the magical beasts really did appear, just as she said.
No, perhaps he just wanted to believe that.
That must be why. Why he felt so filthy.
'That's a stupidly complacent thought.'
Herdin mocked himself. That was also the reason he had been keeping busy since the New Year's festival, minimizing the chances of running into Blair.
He had no intention of being deceived again by that innocent face. One such experience was enough.
The carriage had already left the main street of the capital and was passing behind a theater.
Herdin's gaze, which had been idly looking out the window, landed on one spot in the scenery. Just then, someone stepped out of a carriage. The back was familiar.
A small frame, platinum blonde hair slightly peeking out from under a dark green robe, a glimpse of a small, pale hand.
Herdin's brow furrowed as he recognized at a glance that the woman who got out of the hired carriage was Blair.
There were no escort knights visible around her. Of course, given Herdin's orders, they would be secretly escorting her from not far away.
Blair entered the theater's back door along with the maid she always kept by her side.
"...Your Highness. You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?"
Rus, who had been reporting on the business status, noticed the signs and looked at Herdin. Far from denying it, Herdin gestured toward the theater with his chin.
"Do you know what play is being performed at that theater lately?"
Rus swallowed a sigh at Herdin's attitude of not even pretending to listen, but knowing how sensitive he had been lately, he answered obediently.
"As far as I know, they're putting on a heroic tale set in ancient times when divine beasts existed."
"..."
"But well, the play is just a front. On the surface it's a theater, but it's essentially an open secret meeting place for the lords."
In noble society, loveless political marriages were common, and keeping mistresses, regardless of gender, was also very common.
But being common didn't make it something to be proud of. Nobles who valued face didn't openly reveal the fact that they had mistresses, even if it was an open secret.
"...A secret meeting?"
"Yes. Did you not know?"
A secret meeting. A secret meeting, huh.
Suddenly, a name that had once slipped from his wife's lips came to Herdin's mind.
'Asiel...'
Herdin's gaze, fixed on the back door of the theater Blair had entered, turned coldly severe.
* * *
The theater manager seemed to have been waiting for Blair's arrival, as he met her at the back door. Once inside the theater, he held out a ticket to Lina.
"The young lady can follow the usher over there."
"M-me?"
Lina's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected offer. Blair, noticing the intention to separate Lina, smiled and said.
"Go ahead, enjoy the show comfortably, Lina. I have someone to meet."
"I-is that really okay?"
"Yes. That's more comfortable for me too."
Receiving the ticket, Lina followed the usher with a thoroughly excited face.
The theater manager guided Blair to the top-floor lounge of the theater. It was a private room used only by VIPs.
As she stepped into the room the manager was leading her to, Mikhail, who had been drinking wine in front of the glass window overlooking the stage, turned around.